“Twenty guys at two hundred and fifty grand. That’s his minimum.” Steve glanced at his watch again. “Gotta go, money never sleeps.”

Steve was barely out the door when Brown said, “And a fool and his money are soon parted.”

“You think he’s being foolish?” I asked.

“No one beats the competition all the time. Something isn’t kosher.”

“A lot of smart investors think he can.”

“Who says they’re smart?”

“Are you an investor?” I asked Herb.

“Yeah. I’ve had my money with a rock- solid company named Lehman Brothers for years.”

I nodded but the name meant nothing to me.

“Is Steve a good friend of yours?” Herb asked.

“He’s my best friend’s brother- in- law,” I said, referring to Togo Amato from the North End of Boston. Togo had been the best man at my wedding forty years ago and one of my wife’s pallbearers twenty years ago. “I’d say we’re pretty good friends.

Why?”

“You’re a licensed private investigator in Florida, right?”

“Over a year,” I confirmed.

“Maybe you should do your friend a favor and investigate
B.I. Grover.”